Week 6

Cheating and Plagiarism

Warning! Some or all of the material in this post may not be the authors’ original language, ideas or thoughts. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if that message automatically popped up when plagiarism or cheating is detected in a students’ work? This week we are given the task of discussing the prevention and detection of cheating and plagiarism in an online learning environment.  One of the concerns in online learning is that it is easier to cheat than in a traditional face-to-face classroom.  According to Palloff & Pratt (n.d.) learners cheat about as often in an online environment as they do in traditional environments. With that thought in mind we were given the task of considering the following questions.

What plagiarism detection software is available to online instructors?

In most instances, I assume that it is up to the university or school district what software they choose to use.  From personal experience my university uses Turnitin.  According to their website turnitin.com “Turnitin is the leading academic plagiarism detector, utilized by teachers and students to avoid plagiarism and ensure academic integrity.”  Of course turnitin is not the only software available.  There is PlagiarismDetect.com, which is software that is available for purchase, or there are several free sites for both teachers and students such as, DupliChecker, The Plagiarism Checker & Grammarly.  There are a plethora of other sites out there, but these were the ones that I know of or have personally used for my self or my students (yes I make music students write essays and papers).

How can the design of assessments help prevent academic dishonesty?

In the Palloff & Pratt video that we watched Dr. Pratt stated that he allowed his students to converse or use their resources during his exams or assessments, because he wants his students to have real world experiences.  His rational being that you are not going to be locked in a room or tethered to your desk when you are asked to do research or find information for a project at work.  He also stated that his exam was so difficult that if his students weren’t allowed to use their resources that it would have taken a week to complete.

In her article, Melissa Olt wrote of strategies to minimize academic dishonesty.  Sections of the paper echoed Dr. Pratt in that all assessments should be open-book, and be of a more substantive nature.  She also offers up some advice for designing effective assessments, such as “asking mastery-type questions which require the student to know the subject matter, requiring students to relate the subject matter to their own personal/professional/life experiences, and focusing on the process rather than a final product (Van Belle n.d.). An example of a process-oriented assessment would be to require students to submit thesis statements, outlines, and rough drafts so that they can see the project grow. Assessments should also be oriented toward higher ordered thinking skills, requiring application, evaluation, and synthesis rather than mere factual recall” (Olt, 2002).

What facilitation strategies do you propose to use as a current or future online instructor?

There are many suggestions for how to facilitate academic integrity the most prevalent being, educate your class on what plagiarism is, and how to properly cite your sources. Jocoy & DiBiase found that just referencing university policy wasn’t enough to stop plagiarism in their courses.  They developed an “expectation management strategy” to better communicate their expectations on plagiarism. “We developed guidelines, customized to our course, for proper citation of text and graphic source material in student assignments. In addition, we ensured that students adhere to those guidelines by requiring them to pass an academic integrity quiz to unlock instructions for project assignments. The guidelines and quiz together constitute our expectation management strategy” (p. 9).

Make sure your students are aware of how to properly paraphrase, quote, and cite sources in they style that you or your learning institution requires.   The Purdue online writing lab (OWL) has resources in assisting writers in research and citation in several different styles including APA and MLA.  By constantly reminding your students about your expectations, and by pointing out ways that they may have missed proper citation, you are narrowing the risk of blatant plagiarizing, and helping student who may not realize that they may have missed a proper citation.

What additional considerations for online teaching should be made to help detect or prevent cheating and plagiarism?

Unfortunately, instructors can no longer rely on a change of hand writing or ink color to detect cheating.  The online environment is world wide, and there is little ability to police who is cheating when they are in another part of the world.  One suggestion I read is that instructors should get to know their learners writing styles.  If there is something that seems out of place or unusual to the learners style of writing, there is a good possibility that it is not their work. 

Another useful tip I found was to provide students with an academic integrity/dishonesty policy.  It should include the following principles..

1.     Affirm the importance of academic integrity

2.     Foster love of learning

3.     Treat students as ends in themselves

4.     Promote an environments of trust in the classroom

5.     Encourage student responsibility for academic integrity

6.     Clarify expectations for students

7.     Develop fair and relevant forms of assessment

8.     Reduce opportunities to engage in academic dishonesty

9.     Challenge academic honesty when it occurs

10.  Help define and support campus-wide academic integrity standards (Olt, 2002)

Academic dishonesty is an issue that all instructors must face.  The key to reduce this is for instructors to be proactive and vigilant in their classroom.  They must also be willing to constantly create “cheat proof” course materials.

Chris

References

Jocoy, C., & DiBiase, D. (2006). Plagiarism by adult learners online: A case study in detection and remediation. International Review of Research in Open & Distance Learning, 7(1), 1–15.

Olt, M. (2002).  Ethics and Distance Education: Strategies for Minimizing Academic Dishonesty in Online Assessment. Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 5(3). 

Palloff, R. & Pratt, K. (n.d.). Laureate Education, Inc. [Video]. Plagiarism and Cheating. Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com